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The jury agreed that cigarettes contributed in some way to Newcomb's death, though the companies' liability did not outweigh other factors, said foreman Rodney Marchand. The jury also determined that causes other than cigarettes contributed to the cancers that killed Karney and Bruch. ``It's more likely they died of kidney cancer and breast cancer,'' Marchand said of Karney and Bruch, respectively. ``Because they did not die of lung cancer, it could not have been caused by smoking.''
Tougher Case?
The fact that the Tennessee case combined three families' claims made it harder for them to win, said Raymond Thomas, one of the attorneys who won the $81 million Portland verdict. ``Bad things about one plaintiff's case are held against another plaintiff in the liability determination, which it appears is what occurred here,'' Thomas said.
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A Tennessee jury began deliberating on whether Philip Morris Cos. and other tobacco companies are liable for the deaths of three long-time smokers. The jurors adjourned for the day before reaching a verdict.
The Memphis jury will receive instructions tomorrow from Judge D'Army Bailey before it begins its deliberations. Attorneys for both sides concluded their presentations this afternoon in the trial that began in January.
Some analysts have said the verdict could reverse the recent series of defeats for the industry in smoking-related trials. The industry, hit with two big-money damage awards since February, has a good chance of emerging unscathed in the Memphis trial because of its proximity to tobacco-growing country and the requirement for a unanimous verdict, they say.
The smokers ``knew the risks of smoking and decided to smoke anyway,'' said James R. Johnson, an attorney for R.J. Reynolds.
Closing arguments continue Tuesday and the jury could begin deliberations as early as this afternoon, observers said.
Optimism by some analysts may explain the recent strength in stocks . . . Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst David Adelman told his sales staff Monday afternoon, and spelled out in a research note Tuesday morning, that he is confident that Big Tobacco will prevail in this case, known as Karney, after lead plaintiff James Karney. . . Adelman, who calls this a "cut and dry case," said a lot of rulings have gone the industry's way during the trial
The cigarette companies, said plaintiff's attorney Norwood S. `Woody' Wilner, were responsible for the ``the largest, the worst, the most devastating public health disaster in this country.''
At one point, his co-counsel waved packages of cigarettes before the jurors: ``Each one of them is absolutely nothing but a pack of lies,'' said attorney Curtis Johnson.
Both were speaking on behalf of the family members of deceased cancer victims James Karney, Bobby Newcomb and Florence Bruch.. . Late in Monday's courtroom session, Philip Morris attorney David K. Hardy began his closing arguments, and he'll resume Tuesday morning, followed by attorneys representing the other two companies.
Analysts said the proximity of the Memphis trial to tobacco- growing country and the requirement for a unanimous verdict favor the defendants.
The tobacco companies conspired to hide facts about smoking and designed cigarettes to enhance addiction, Norwood (Woody) Wilner, the attorney for the families, told the jury in closing arguments today. ``Everything they did was intentional. There were no accidents,'' said Wilner. ``The cigarette companies knew about the risks and concealed and hid the facts.'' . . . The companies are being sued by the families of Bobby Newcomb, who held various jobs including truck driver and dock worker and was 64 when he died in 1998; James Karney, a truck driver who was 71 when he died in 1996; and Florence Bruch, a homemaker who died in 1996 at age 64.
An alternate juror discarded his red ID badge Thursday morning and bolted from the Shelby County Courthouse.
He isn't coming back.
The defection, just before the start of Thursday's morning session, occurred as attorneys for cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris were to resume questioning cancer specialists they had called to the witness stand.
Memphis radiologist Daniel J. Becker and retired pathologist George T. Hensley of Virginia testified last week that Florence Bruch and James Karney suffered from cancers that didn't originate in the lungs.
Dr. Robert Norrell is an expert in the measurement of "common knowledge" - the reservoir of factual information that is widely circulated through a society. Tidbits such as George Washington's being the first president, for example. Or Genesis's place at the beginning of the Old Testament.
Smoking's harmful effects, the defense witness testified, have been part of that common-knowledge canon for centuries, at least since England's King James penned a tract called ``A Counter Blaste to tobacco'' in 1604. . . He's the first in the line of defense witnesses that will take about four more weeks to present, attorneys estimate.